Fighting for Love

"What do you mean you just wanted to come to say goodbye?" asked Rosalie.

"I….I've joined the Army. I leave for training in London tomorrow, then I'll be based somewhere in the Normandy," replied Emmett hesitantly, not wanting to upset his beloved Rose.

"What? But…," Rosalie took a moment to let the news sink in.

Her closest friend was joining the army? She had known Emmett since their senior year of High School, and he had always said he wanted to join, but she never thought that day would come so soon. Emmett meant the world to her, and she didn't want him to leave. She didn't want to fall asleep each night, wondering if he was alive and well, or dead in a ditch. She didn't want him to never come back home.

"Why?" she demanded. At this point, she was getting mad, not at Emmett, but at what he had to do. "It's not even our war to fight! Why do you have to go over there and sacrifice your life for someone else's problems?"

"I'm not fighting for someone else's problems Rose."

"Well then who!"

"Rosalie Hale," Emmett replied exasperated, as he really wanted her to understand. "I'm fighting for the children out there who are dying because of 'someone else's problem'. I'm fighting for all the woman who are losing there husbands due to random bombs going off in the streets, because people are going against 'someone else's problem'. But most of all, I'm fighting for us, for you, for the hope that things over there won't get so bad that we see the horrific effects here. That…that is what I'm fighting for."

"Please don't leave," said Rosalie, in tears.

Emmett grasped her in his strong and muscular arms, as she buried her head in his hard chest. He held her close to him and tight, because he didn't want to ever have to let go of her. He didn't want to leave Rosalie, she meant more to him than anyone out there knew, but he had to. This was something he just felt like he needed to do, and although it was one of the scariest things he had ever planned on doing, he knew in his heart that he should be over there. Rosalie was the last to find out about this and the truth was he had put off telling her for way to long. He knew that she would react like this, and he knew that it would hurt her. But he didn't want to hurt her in anyway. Because hurting her, hurt him.

Rosalie held on to Emmett for what, for all she knew, could be the last time. She held on with the intention of never letting go. Not only did she hold on to him, but she held on to all their memories, his stunning and playful smile, the sparkle in his eyes, the way he said her name, the way his warm sweater smelled when she was feeling cold, the way he had promised he would never leave, and the way he never had.

"Emmett…I need you to promise me something."

"Anything for you."

"Promise me that….that no matter what happens, you will come home."

"Rose, you know I can't promise you that. I-"

"Emmett….please. I…I can't live knowing that I may never see you again. You have to come home, please Emmett, please!" chocked out Rosalie as fresh tears streamed down her face. She had never been much of an emotional person, but she guessed that was because she had never felt this type of emotion. Sure, she had known other guys who went off to the War, and sure, she would miss them all. But she didn't love any of them. And when you love someone, the whole dynamic is instantly changed.

"…I Promise," Emmett whispered as he wiped away her tears with his finger. "Remember? I'm Bullet proof"

"You wish." Half laughed Rosalie, noticing that he was trying to lighten the mood. Typical Emmett.

He guided her over to the couch, where they sat down together. He put his arm around her, as she rested her head on his shoulder. One of the most amazing things to Rosalie was that somehow, she fit perfectly in his grasp. They were like two puzzle pieces that were made for each other. Rosalie and Emmett both liked that thought, though, neither of them knew the other thought the same thing. But in truth, they didn't just love each other as friends. No, their love went deeper than that. However, both were too scared to admit to the other how they truly felt. What if the other didn't love them that way? What if it ruined their friendship? Then again, what if things did work out? What if they were supposed to end up together?

Rosalie and Emmett didn't want to think about that at this particular moment in time. They just talked, as they normally did. As friends. They talked about all the crazy stuff that happened in high school, about what Rosalie was planning to do now that they had graduated, about their families, and friends. They didn't talk about where and what Emmett was going to be doing.

Emmett had always loved that with Rosalie, he could be himself. He didn't need to hide all the little things about himself that would make people think he's odd. And Rose always remembered those details that he talked about in conversations, like what camp he worked at over the summer, what his brother was doing, and little things like what food he liked, or funny, yet embarrassing memories that she would tease him about later on. Rosalie brought out the best in him, that was for sure. They had the ideal friendship, and they weren't about to let this current change in events ruin that.

Needless to say, what seemed like minutes turned out to be hours, and Emmett had to leave to finish packing. Rosalie had a class at the university the next morning, so this was going to be the last time she would see him for the next 10 months…if he made it that long. Rosalie knew she had to tell Emmett how she felt about him before it was too late.

"Emmett…I…I," but she couldn't choke the words out as she stared at him through blood shot eyes. "I'll miss you. I'll miss you more then you'll ever begin to comprehend."

"I'll miss you too Sweetheart," whispered Emmett as he took her hand in his, intertwining their fingers. He didn't know what would happen overseas, but he only hoped that one day he would come back. And when he did, he might finally be able to tell Alana how much he loved her.

Rosalie half smiled at what Emmett had just called her, but she didn't think much of it. She walked him to just outside the door where it was raining lightly. She wiped away her tears with the sleeve of her shirt as she shivered in the doorway holding his hand. He pulled off his warm sweater, and draped it around her shoulders.

"Keep it, I won't need it in the middle of the desert," Emmett smiled as he squeezed her hand. He stared into her big blue eyes with a look that made her heartbeat momentarily stop. His eyes…they were filled with everything she knew he was.

They showed his never ending kindness in their green sparkle, his kindness that proved itself whenever, wherever, no conditions attached. She saw the mischief, curiosity and yearning for new discoveries, which was probably part of why he was leaving, in the yellow rim around his black pupils. In the deep forest evergreen of the center, she saw how much he cared about her. But some of the glistening sparkle was gone…Emmett was scared of what he was about to do, and that she was certain of. It was the reason she had to let him go. Because although she would rather have him stay in their small town where he would be safe, she was so incredibly proud of him. Fighting in a war is possibly one of the most heroic and courageous things anyone could ever think of doing, and he was strong enough to do it.

Emmett walked halfway to his truck, as the rain fell upon his Rosalie. The clouds gave the all around mood a murky deadness. They were dark grays and blacks, with the slightest hints of green and purple. In the prairie where they lived, this meant that a huge storm was going to be rolling through that night. The air was dry and humid at the same time, the rain falling slightly harder now. Raindrops trickled off Rosalie's nose, as she called his name. "Emmett…be safe."

He was halfway into his warm truck by now, but turned to face her. He nodded his head once, then fully climbed in and shut the door. He drove off into the fog that the rain was creating, and he slowly disappeared from Rosalie's view.

So she stood there, alone. The rain decided that this would be an ideal moment to fully unleash its tears, just as Rosalie now did. She went over the last two hours in her head, replaying every detail, trying to retain it forever. She wanted to sink to her knees and slowly melt away, but she couldn't. All she could do was stand there frozen, hoping to see his truck come back, hoping that he would stay, and hoping that things could change. Her heart felt like it had just been ripped out of its place, and was now put on a stake to burn in eternal pain. It literally made her gasp and grab at her sides, as she tried to hold herself from crumbling on the spot. He had the other part of her heart, the part she needed in order to live, and now she was never going to get that other half back. The pain stun…it hurt her so much. Pain because Emmett was gone.

The more she thought about her last moments with Emmett, the more she regretted every second of them. As she slowly walked back to her house, she couldn't help but think of what she should have done.

"I should have told him," she whispered to herself as she silently walked into her house. "He was right there, at the tip of my fingers, the words were right there on the tip of my tongue. My whole world was right there holding me in his arms, and I just let him slip away."

Rosalie closed the door, then turning her back on it, she sank to the ground in desperation. Her breaths came out in dyeing gasps as she tried holding herself together. With tears rolling off her cheeks in even streams, she put her head in her hands and cried. She didn't stop all night long, she cried herself to sleep, and every time she was woken by a startling nightmare, the tears would fall once more. Everything seemed so empty now. Emmett was the center of everything she did, and with him now gone, all she had wanted in life disappeared. What was left in her heart and mind was dead space, the only thing haunting it was the words she never said.

Rosalie searched for a way of reliving the ache, but as soon as she thought she had found it, a knife would cut her again. If only she could see him just once more, get one more chance to explain what she felt to him! And with that thought in mind, she made a decision that would change her life.

The next morning was just as dreary as the day before, and Emmett had been thinking a lot since then. Was he doing the right thing? Should he turn back before it's too late? He wasn't sure about anything at this point except for one thing, which was that he should have told Rosalie how he felt about her. He hadn't lost all hope that he would see her again, in fact he was dead set on doing just so. He had to make it through what he was going off to do, and he wouldn't accept death. He was prepared to fight it to the bitter end, even when he didn't think he could take any more of the sorrow he saw, even if he didn't want to fight it any longer, he had to push on and not give up. He would, and he was certain he could. Because he loved her, and love can make miracles happen, dreams come true, it can even save lives.

Emmett had been sitting on the ticket platform, waiting for his train to come, when he heard the voice on the stations speakers say "Train 193 to Toronto pulling in. Please have your tickets ready and get prepared to board."

Emmett stood up feeling the stiffness of his new green uniform. He liked the way he seemed to get respect from all those around him, it made him feel like he might be making the right choice. He grabbed his luggage where he gave his duffle bag to the conductor of the train which had just pulled in. As he was fishing around in his backpack for his tckets, he heard a commotion in the cluster of people at the stations door.

Rosalie pushed and shoved, stepping on numerous toes as she tried to lock eyes with the person she was looking for. She didn't take time to apologize as she looked frantically around the room, hoping he hadn't left yet.

"Emmett!" she yelled once she spotted him stepping onto the train. "Emmett, wait!"

Emmett spun around just in time to see Rosalie running across the ticket platform towards him. He dropped his backpack to see her stop just a few meters in front of him, with a shy smile on her face. He ran towards her, and picked her up in his arms, swinging her around in a tight hug.

"What are you doing here?" he asked excitedly. "Shouldn't you be at the university class?"

"Maybe," she said shining him an ecstatic smile as she tried to catch her breath. "But I don't care. I'm so glad I got here before you left!"

"What's going on?"

"Emmett," Rosalie said, suddenly serious. "I've wanted to tell you something for…a really long time, and I kept putting it off thinking I had time, but I don't. I couldn't bear to let you leave without telling you this."

"What is it?"

"I love you…no, I don't just love you; I'm in love with you, and I have been for quite some time. I thought I would get over you, but I couldn't because you're always on my mind. Then I thought that maybe there was a reason for that, but I didn't want to ruin what we had… Listen, I don't know where I stand with you or what I mean to you, all I know is every time I think of you, I want to be with you. Emmett…you mean everything to me."

Emmett put his hands on either side of Rosalie's face and kissed her with so much passion, it could have started a fire. He let himself lose control of everything he used to hold back, not caring who was watching. He couldn't help it but laugh when partway through the kiss, he could feel Rosalie smiling. His lips lingered on hers, and then moved up to her forehead where he whispered "I love you" back to her.

Rosalie smiled as she pulled her face up once again to meet his lips, feeling emotions she had never experienced before. Emmett was the only guy she had ever seriously liked, and maybe that's why kissing him was different from the way she had kissed her past boyfriends. With Emmett, it just felt right. Like she had already been dating him, like they had done this a million times, but they hadn't. It was an unexplainable feeling, one that a person can only understand with experience.

Emmett slowly pulled back, as he moved his hands to wrap his arms around her waist. Rosalie kept her arms firm around his neck, as she stared into the eyes of her one true love.

"You're going to make me miss my train, beautiful," smiled Emmett as he tucked a lose strand of Rosalie's breath taking blonde hair behind her ear. "Rose, me going off to war, I don't want you to feel tied down back here. Ten months is a long time to-"

"Shhhh," she hushed him with her soft finger to his lips. "I have waited three years for you, I think I can handle ten months. Sure, I'll miss you, but I don't mind. I'd rather miss you then not have you at all. I'll be here as long as you want me."

"In that case, you had better plan on forever," he smirked. "I'll see you when I get home, ok?"
"Ok…remember what you promised. Be safe."

Emmett kissed Rosalie on the lips for what would be the last time for awhile, and then he turned around and walked onto the train. Rosalie stood there with tears mixed with joy and sadness running down her face, when she saw Emmett poke his head through the nearest window.

"I love you," he mouthed as the train and chatter of people drowned out his voice.

Rosalie struggled to get her words out right "I love you too."

The train sounded its whistle, and the familiar sound of its wheels on the track pierced Rosalie's ear. She stared at Emmett's face, still out the window, until the train entered the dark tunnel in which it disappeared…